Lutes Fall to Ranked Opponents at Boxer Kickoff

FOREST GROVE, Ore. - Pacific Lutheran opened its 2008 season on Saturday by losing a pair of matches to nationally ranked opponents during the first day of the Boxer Kickoff Volleyball Invitational hosted by Pacific University.

The Lutes, who came into the tournament ranked No. 14 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III national poll, dropped a four-set contest in the afternoon to No. 12 Cal State-East Bay in the opener. The Pioneers won the match 19-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-21. During the evening session, No. 25-ranked Christopher Newport University from defeated the Lutes, 15-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-20.

Cal State-East Bay 3, PLU 1

Box Score

The Lutes didn't have a particularly strong first set, but they were good enough to beat a flat Cal State-East Bay squad. The Pioneers committed 10 hitting errors with only 11 kills, while the Lutes were barely better with eight kills and six errors. After that, Jackie Randolph stepped it up for the Pioneers, leading the visitors from Hayward, Calif., to the victory. She finished the match with 21 kills and she also tied for team-high honors with 19 digs. Setter Roxanne Neely had 46 assists for the winners.

For PLU, Beth Hanna collected seven of her 14 kills in the final game, and both Kelsie Moore and Kelcy Joynt had nine total kills. Sarah Beaver collected 32 assists and Brenna Archibald had 22 digs for PLU.

Cal State-East Bay finished with a .173 hitting percentage while the Lutes ended up at .093.

Christopher Newport 3, Pacific Lutheran 1

Box Score

The Lutes dominated the Captains in the first set, but they struggled with numerous unforced in the final three games. Meanwhile, the visitors from Newport News, Virginia, found a rhythm on offense behind the power hitting of Allie Wolfe. The senior outside hitter finished the match with 14 kills, and she helped the Captains improve their hitting percentage from zero after the first set to .170 for the match. In addition, Christopher Newport stuffed the Lutes at the net with a total of10 team blocks.

For Pacific Lutheran, Joynt finished with 17 kills and a .361 hitting percentage, and Hanna had 14 kills for the second straight match. The Lutes finished with a .184 attack percentage but managed just four team blocks.

The Lutes return to action with two matches on Sunday, playing UC Santa Cruz at 10 a.m. and Neumann (Pa.) at 4 p.m.

- PLU -